Invited Presenters among other:

Dr. Ruth Henderson, Ruth Henderson, Ph.D. teaches The Experience of Forgiveness: Psychological, Sociological and Spiritual Perspectives in the U.S. at Boston University and in the Massachusetts prisons, where she has worked with the incarcerated men for twelve years. The seminar is an outgrowth of her research, which focuses on forgiveness in the aftermath of trauma. The Boston Globe Magazine (circulation 2 mill.) featured her forgiveness work with the inmates on April 1, 2007. In addition to her work in the U.S., Dr. Henderson has provided forgiveness workshops at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, South Africa, at the Alternatives to Violence Project international conference in Johannesburg, and has presented her work at the Memory, Narrative and Forgiveness conference at the University of Cape Town. The research of Dr. Henderson includes work in Germany and Israel. Her focus is on several members of a Jewish-German dialogue group in which children of holocaust survivors meet with children of Nazi perpetrators to develop understanding and to find freedom and peace. In this context, she has been interviewing a former SS soldier, who is now a practicing Buddhist and peace activist for the past two decades. To learn more about her work, visit: http://people.bu.edu/rhh/

Contribution

2 hour workshop

The Experience of Forgiveness: A Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Individual and Collective WisdomThrough brief periods of silent meditation that occur within my group workshop, individuals may experience transformation, which in turn, transforms the group dynamic. This requires an in-depth listening: Listening to oneself, to the Creator, and to each other. In this process of practicing compassion and forgiveness, we can gain access to the collective wisdom. The wisdom of this group consciousness has the power to find a way through what appeared to be impossible.
The word FORGIVENESS evokes many feelings and associations in each of us. Our cultural heritage and personal histories affect our openness and understanding of what it means to forgive. If we imagine forgiveness as a process that can offer us healing and liberation, the therapeutic possibilities are abundant. Forgiveness can be understood as the spiritual experience of letting go with love. But if one is deeply injured, letting go of past pain can be extremely difficult because it often requires a shift in our actual identity. In this experiential workshop, we will begin to explore together possible passageways to peace, freedom and broader vision. Through deep listening to ourselves and each other, we may discover these passageways. The group will use silent meditation as a means to a sacred listening that has the power to transform both individuals and the collective consciousness.